UC-NRLF 


GIFT  OF 
Agriculture  Education 


AGRIC. 

LIBRARY 


U1TRYR 


PROGRESSIVE 
POULTRY  RAISING 

By  WILLIAM  A.^JPPINCOTT 

PROFESSOR  OF  POULTRY  HUSBANDRY 
KANSAS  STATE  AGRICULTURAL  COLLEGE 


ARMOUR'S  BUREAU  OF 

AGRICULTURAL  RESEARCH  AND  ECONOMICS 
R.  J.  H.  DE  LOACH,  Director 

UNION  STOCK  YARDS.  CHICAGO.  ILLINOIS 


L53 

AGRIC. 

UBRARY 


( 

>  '"*'• 


Copyright  1920,  Armour  and  Company 


First  Edition,  June  1920. 


Table  of  Contents 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTION,  H.  L.  Brown 5 

PROGRESSIVE  POULTRY  RAISING, 

W.  A.  Lippincott 7 

Kind  of  Stock  for  the  Farm 8 

Breeds  and  Classes 8 

Choosing  a  breed 1 1 

Methods  of  breeding 1 1 

Culling 12 

Characteristics  of  high  layers 15 

Characteristics  of  poor  layers i5 

The  breeding  pen 1 6 

Care  of  eggs  for  hatching 16 

Incubating . . .  .  17 

Time  of  hatching '. .  .  .  i  q 

Farm  brooders 20 

Feeding  chicks 22 

Sour  milk  the  first  feed 23 

Feeding  practice 24 

Green  food. .  . 27 

Separate  the  sexes 27 

Location  of  the  poultry  house 27 

Essentials  of  a  good  hen  house 28 

Care  of  the  house 30 

Yards 31 

Feeding  laying  hens 32 

Fattening  for  slaughter 34 

Producing  good  eggs 35 

Diseases 35 

Lice  and  mites 36 

Turkeys 38 

Ducks 42 

Geese 45 

References 47 

(574738 


Introduction 


T~^OULTRY  has  been  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  human  food 
K^^the  world  over,  even  preceding  the  days  of  civilization.     In 
early  America  nearly  every  farmer  kept  a  small  flock  which 
supplied  eggs  in  season  and  meat  at  convenient  intervals. 

The  rapid  industrial  expansion  in  the  United  States  which 
followed  the  Civil  War  brought  about  the  development  of  large 
cities  and  the  congestion  of  our  people  into  restricted  areas.  A 
natural  demand  came  from  them  for  those  healthful  and  appetizing 
foods  which  they  had  always  known,  including  eggs  and  poultry 
along 'with  other  perishable  farm  products. 

The  story  of  satisfying  this  demand  is  largely  the  story  of 
artificial  refrigeration.  The  discovery  that  eggs  can  be  preservpd 
when  kept  cold,  the  building  of  cold  storage  warehouses  to  prepare 
during  times  of  plenty  for  periods  of  scarcity,  the  invention  of  the 
refrigerator  car,  have  all  played  a  part  in  supplying  our  people 
witte  such  necessities  as  eggs  and  poultry.  Armour  and  Company 
have  played  no  small  part  in  this  service  of  storing  and  transport- 
ing these  foods.  Every  family  now  considers  eggs  a  daily  necessity, 
and  thanks  to  modern  methods,  the  supply  is  daily  forthcoming. 

This  new  era  in  marketing  farn.  produce  has  had  the  direct 
effect  of  increasing  production.  Instead  of  growing  enough  poultry 
to  supply  the  family's  needs  during  the  egg  laying  season,  the 
farmer  has  found  it  profitable  to  enlarge  this  activity  which  provides 
such  a  sure  and  steady  source  of  income.  The  average  annual 
farm  income  from  sales  of  poultry  and  eggs  for  all  of  the  farms  in 
the  United  States  is  approximately  $100,  while  many  ordinary 
farms  receive  $500  to  $  1,000  from  this  source.  The  value  of  all 
poultry  products  produced  annually  in  America  is  now  over  one 
billion  dollars.  While  this  branch  of  the  farming  industry  has 
grown  tremendously,  there  is  still  room  for  development  without 
fear  of  the  supply  exceeding  the  demand. 

This  book  has  been  prepared  for,  and  is  being  distributed  by 
Armour's  Bureau  of  Agricultural  Research  and  Economics,  to 
foster  the  production  of  poultry  and  poultry  products  of  a  kind 
needed  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  consuming  public,  to  supply  a 
higher  grade  product  for  the  farmers'  tables,  and  to  bring  a  higher 
return  to  those  engaged  in  poultry  raising  whether  on  a  large  or 
small  scale. 


The  author,  Wm.  A.  Lippincott,  is  Professor  of  Poultry  Hus- 
bandry at  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College,  and  a  poultry  man  of 
International  reputation,  being  Secretary  of  the  International 
Poultry  Instructors  and  Investigators  Association,  and  the  author 
of  one  of  the  most  widely  used  text  books  on  poultry  raising. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  booklet  will  find  a  permanent  place  on 
the  shelves  of  all  those  interested  in  progressive  poultry  raising 
and  that  the  benefits  from  it  will  accrue  both  to  the  producer  and 
the  distributor. 

H.  L.  BROWN,  Manager, 
Butter,  Cheese,  Egg  and  Poultry  Department, 
Armour  and  Company. 


A  Prize  White  Plymouth  Rock. 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 


Progressive  Poultry  Raising 

William  A.  Lippincott 

Professor  of  Poultry  Husbandry 

Kansas  State  Agricultural  College 


A  FARM  without  poultry  is  unusual.     In  early  days 
a  home  without  it  was  just  as  much  so.    With  the 
growth  of  the  towns  and  cities,  the  development  of 
the  refrigerator  car  and  of  the  egg-packing  industry,  with 
its  cold  storage  facilities,  the  town  and  city  dwellers  came 
to  depend  upon  the  people  of  the  open  country  for  the 
production  of  poultry  and  eggs. 

In  the  beginning  the  farmer  or  his  wife  simply  sold 
the  surplus  from  the  flock  which  supplied  the  family 
needs.  This  is  still  largely  true,  though  the  size  of  the 
flock  has  grown  and  the  surplus  has  increased  as  the 
prices  for  poultry  products  have  risen.  Fowls  have 
received  increasing  recognition  as  a  means  of  marketing 
waste  grains,  grasshoppers  and  other  insects. 

Unfortunately  for  consumptive  demand  the  produc- 
tion of  poultry  and  eggs  is  largely  seasonal.  The  bulk 
of  the  year's  lay  comes  between  the  first  of  February  and 
the  first  of  August  in  most  states-; ;  p?be  poultry ^rrop 
comes  to  market  between  the  first*  6^e  August  ansl  the 
holidays,  yet  people  need  these  hi 
the  year  round.  It  is  artificial ^i- 
it  possible  for  the  farmer  to  sell  eggs  in  April  and  live 
poultry  in  November  at  prices  that  are  profitable,  and 
for  city  folks  to  buy  eggs  in  December  and  broilers  in 
February  at  prices  which  are  not  prohibitive.  -  The 
cold  storage  houses  are  the  cellars  of  the  cities. 

Page  Seven 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

The  outlet  for  poultry  products  has  from  the  first  been 
a  steadily  increasing  one,  and  the  need  today  is  for  more, 
larger,  and  better  farm  flocks,  sheltered  in  better  houses, 
fed  on  better  rations  and  given  better  care.  It  is  the 
farmers'  need  as  well  as  the  consumers',  for  the  general 
farm  that  is  understocked  on  poultry  is  not  fully  efficient, 
because  it  is  failing  to  utilize  and  realize  on  its  byprod- 
ucts. Worms,  weedseeds  and  windfalls  can  command  good 
prices  when  transformed  into  poultry  and  eggs. 


Except  in  the  case  of  the  strictly 
Kind  of  Stock  meat  birds  such  as  the  turkey,  duck 
for  the  Farm  (with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
Runner)  and  goose,  the  income  from 
the  eggs  sold  constitutes  about  two-thirds  of  the  income 
for  poultry  products,  the  carcasses  sold  whether  alive 
or  dressed,  furnishing  the  other  one-third.  The  egg  is 
undoubtedly  the  more  profitable  of  the  two  products 
and  the  farm  flock  should  always  be  good  layers.  Hav- 
ing in  mind  his  own  home  needs,  however,  the  farmer 
usually  wishes  stock  that  furnishes  a  sizable  carcass  as 
well  as  a  good  number  of  eggs.  He  should  also  have  in 
mind  that  quick  gains  are  the  cheapest  gains  with  chick- 
ens as  well  as  hogs  and  cattle,  and  early  maturity  is  an 
asset  to  any  farm  flock. 


Breeds  and  There  are  four  classes  of  chickens 

Cla$'Sesr  ',/; 'that;  have  found  favor  on  general 
-  -'farms.  These  are  the  Asiatics  which 
include/  .the- ,  Brahma^,  'Cochins  and  Langshans;  the 
We<3i^rr.fSneah§;whiclT  'include  the  Leghorns,  Minorcas, 
Andalusians,  Anconas  and  Spanish;  the  Americans  which 
include  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyandottes,  Rhode  Island 
Reds,  Dominiques,  Buckeyes,  and  the  Javas  and  the 
English  which  include  the  Orpingtons,  Dorkings,  Sussex, 
Cornish  and  Redcaps. 

Page  Eight 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

The  Asiatic  breeds  have  not  been  as  popular  for  general 
farm  use  of  late  as  they  formerly  were.  They  are  for 
the  most  part  large,  slow-maturing  birds  which  lay  only 
indifferently  and  are  greatly  given  to  broodiness.  The 
loose,  heavy  feathers  also  furnish  an  ideal  refuge  for 
lice  and  render  it  more  difficult  to  keep  the  flock  free 
from  parasites. 

Of  the  American  breeds  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  Wyan- 
dottes,  and  Rhode  Island  Reds  are  found  in  farm  flocks 
with  frequency.  Members  of  these  breeds  are  intermediate 
in  size  between  the  Asiatics  and  the  Mediterraneans, 
giving  a  carcass  of  desirable  size  and  quality  for  market- 
ing or  for  home  use.  While  the  average  egg  production 
of  these  breeds  is  not  so  high  as  in  the  case  of  the  Leghorns, 
there  are  strains  and  families  which  are  great  producers. 
At  the  Vineland,  N.  J.,  contest  a  White  Plymouth  Rock 
laid  301  eggs  during  her  first  laying  year  and  a  Barred 
Plymouth  Rock  accomplished  the  feat  of  producing  501 
eggs  in  two  years,  these  being  the  highest  one-year  and 
two-year  records  at  the  contest.  There  appears  to  be  no 
reason  why  a  satisfactory  egg  production  and  a  sizable 
carcass  should  not  be  found  in  the  same  Hock. 

Among  the  English  breeds  the  Orpington  is  the  only 
one  extensively  used  for  the  farm  flocks.  The  Orpingtons 
are  quite  similar  in  general  characteristics  to  the  American 
breeds,  being  a  little  heavier  than  the  Plymouth  Rocks 
and  a  little  slower  in  maturing.  Like  the  Plymouth 
Rocks,  they  are  fair  layers  of  rather  light  brown  eggs. 

The  Mediterranean  breeds  are  smaller  than  the  English, 
American  and  Asiatic  breeds  and  much  more  active  than 
the  latter.  Taking  the  White  Leghorn  as  representative 
of  the  class  (this  variety  probably  being  bred  in  larger 
numbers  than  all  the  other  Mediterraneans  combined), 
the  average  egg  production  is  larger  than  for  any  other 
class.  The  Leghorn,  however,  finds  its  popularity  on 
specialty  farms  where  eggs  are  the  main  cash  crop, 

Page  Nine 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

rather  than  on  general  farms.  The  Leghorn  has  not 
proved  popular  as  a  general  farm  fowl  largely  for  two 
reasons.  The  first  is  that  as  usually  bred,  they  furnish 
a  rather  small  carcass  for  table  use  and  second,  they  are 
so  flighty  as  to  be  difficult  of  control.  It  is  possible, 
however,  to  breed  Leghorns  of  good  size  which  are  fairly 
desirable  for  table  use.  The  fact  that  they  lay  a  pure 
white  egg  which  is  in  demand  in  certain  extreme  Eastern 
and  Western  markets  makes  them  desirable  in  those 
sections. 

A  recent  bulletin  (No.  338)  from  the  New  Jersey 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  gives  some  very  inter- 
esting .  figures  on  the  representatives  of  the  various 
breeds  entered  in  the  egg  laying  contest  at  Vineland,  N.  J. 
The  Plymouth  Rocks  included  the  Barred,  White  and 
Columbian  varieties.  The  Wyandottes  were  White  and 
Columbians.  The  Rhode  Island  Reds  were  all  Single 
Combs  and  the  Leghorns  were  mostly  Single  Comb 
Whites,  with  a  very  few  Single  Comb  Buffs  and  Blacks. 
In  judging  the  results  of  this  contest  it  should  be  remem- 
bered that  the  figures  show  the  returns  from  eggs  alone 
and  not  what  the  result  would  be  upon  marketing  the 
flock  after  the  profitable  egg  producing  period.  The 
numbers  of  representatives  of  each  breed,  the  average 
first-year  production,  feed  consumption  and  financial 
returns  were  as  follows: 

Plymouth  Rhode  Island 

llocks     Wyandottes        Reds        Leghorns 

Number  of  Birds 1 70  1 50  80  600 

Number  of  Eggs  per  Bird I55-0  144.3  150.6  169.7 

Per  Cent  Production 42.5  39.5  41.2  46.5 

Per  Cent  of  zoo-Egg  Hens 14.7  8.6  11.2  22.8 

Weight  of  Eggs  per  Bird  (Ibs.) 19-73  I7-Q8  19.74  21.36 

Average  Weight  of  Birds  (Ibs.) 5.94  4.99  5.31  3.49 

Feed  Consumed  per  Bird  (Ibs.) 89.78  80.34  86.56  76.19 

Average  Cost  of  Feed  per  Bird $2.52  $2.30  $2.47  $2.19 

Pounds  of  Feed  to  i  pound  of  Eggs     4.6  4.6  4.5  3.5 

Actual  Price  per  Dozen  Eggs $0.43  $0.43  $0.43  $0.46 

Actual  Value  of  Eggs  per  Bird $5.46  $5.22  $5-44  $6.49 

Actual  Returns  above  Feed  per  Bird  $2.91  $2.92  $2.97  $4-3° 

Page  Ten 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

Choosing  The  choice  of  the  breed  or  variety 

a  Breed  *s  ^ar§e^Y  one  °f  personal  preference 

after  one  has  decided  on  the  class  of 
birds  that  will  best  meet  his  needs.  If  a  general  purpose 
fowl  for  the  average  farm  that  will  produce  a  good  number 
of  eggs  and  furnish  a  sizable  carcass  is  looked  for,  accom- 
panied by  fairly  quick  growth  and  early  maturity,  one 
of  the  American  or  English  breeds  will  meet  the  need. 
If  one  looks  forward  to  making  eggs  the  important  cash 
crop,  one  of  the  Mediterraneans  will  probably  be  chosen. 
It  makes  very  little  difference  what  particular  breed  and 
variety  is  cftbsen,  the  important  problem  of  the  progres- 
sive poultry  raiser  being  to  secure  the  best  breeders 
possible  of  the  breed  and  variety  selected. 

It  is  not  always  easy  to  get  hold  of  good  breeding  stock, 
from  the  farmer's  standpoint,  though  the  agencies  for 
helping  him  in  this  regard  are  fortunately  increasing 
rapidly.  Laying  contests  conducted  by  a  number  of  the 
State  Agricultural  Experiment  Stations  are  proving  a 
great  help.  Many  of  the  other  stations  are  compiling 
lists  of  breeders  who  carefully  trap-nest  and  pedigree 
their  flocks  in  regard  to  egg  production. 

Methods  Characteristics  to  be  desired  in  a  farm 

of  Breeding  flock  are  in  the  order  of  their  import- 

ance: vigor,  high  production  and 
uniformity.  It  is  possible  to  secure  these  by  the  use  of 
vigorous  pure-bred  males  from  high  producing  strains 
with  flocks  of  mixed  breeding.  In  a  recent  test  at  the 
Kansas  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  it  was  possible 
to  increase  the  average  egg  production  of  what  was  a 
mongrel  flock  from  0,8  to  155  eggs  per  year  and  exchange 
uniformity  for  a  great  lack  of  it  by  using  Barred  Plymouth 
Rock  males  from  trap-nested  stock  for  three  successive 
years.  Where  White  Leghorn  males  were  used  for  the 
same  length  of  time,  the  improvement  of  egg  production 
was  found  even  more  marked.  The  original  mongrel 

Page  Eleven 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

hen  gave  an  average  production  of  71  eggs.  After  grad- 
ing by  the  use  of  pure-bred  single  comb  White  Leghorn 
males  for  three  years  the  flock  average  was  increased  to 
192  eggs.  The  original  mongrel  flocks  were  a  mixture 
of  red,  black  and  buff.  The  third  generation  grades 
were  of  pure  white.  The  grade  Leghorns,  however,  were 
smaller  than  the  grade  Plymouth  Rocks  and  not  as 
desirable  from  the  market  standpoint. 

While  it  has  been  proven  that  a  poor-laying  mongrel 
flock  containing  several  types  and  colors  may  be  made 
over  into  a  high-producing  flock  of  uniform  color  that  is 
just  as  desirable  from  the  market  standpoint  as  pure- 
breds,  within  the  space  of  three  years,  the  fact  should 
not  be  overlooked  that  a  considerable  source  of  profit 
may  come  from  selling  breeding  stock.  This  can  only  be 
done  satisfactorily  where  one  keeps  pure-bred  stock.  It 
costs  no  more  to  house  and  feed  a  pure-bred  flock  than  it 
does  a  bunch  of  mongrels  or  grades  and  where  stock  can 
be  disposed  of  at  satisfactory  prices,  the  pure-bred  flock 
will  prove  much  more  profitable. 

Culling  Whether  the  poultry  producer  keeps  pure- 
breds  or  grades,  he  will  increase  his  profits 
very  materially  by  culling  his  flock  closely  every  year. 
Though  the  trap  nest  is  the  most  accurate  means  of 
selecting  the  best  layers  in  the  flock,  its  use  is  only 
practicable  for  those  who  make  poultry  breeding  a 
specialty.  The  trap  nest  usually  has  no  place  on  the 
general  farm.  On  the  average,  the  pullet  laying  year  is 
more  profitable  than  any  other.  Yearlings  and  two-year 
olds  are  likely  to  be  kept  at  an  actual  loss  unless  they 
are  carefully  culled. 

The  best  time  of  year  in  which  to  do  the  culling  is  late 
July,  August  and  early  September.  This  comes  from 
the  fact  that  the  poor  layers  are  usually  early  molters 
while  the  better  layers  as  a  general  thing  do  not  molt 
until  November  or  December.  As  a  usual  thing  therefore 
the  poor  producers  are  the  best  lookers  in  the  late  summer, 

Pate  Tweke 


Fig.  1.     Proper  way  to  hold  a  hen  for  finding  the  distance  between 
the  pelvic  bones. 


Fig.  2.     Showing  the  way  to  find  the  distance  from  the  pelvic  bones 
to  the  keel.    (Courtesy  T.  S.  Townsley,  Univ.  Mo.) 


Fig.  1;  Kansas  65,  a  mongrel*  hen.     First  year  production  100  eggs. 
Fj{|.  £,  "Kansas  <16,  £  daiigktefr  of  mongrel  hen  Kansas  65  and  a  Barred  Plymouth 
.    '>  "Rock-niMe  fcrefn  a'h'gh-laying   family.      First  year  production  182  eggs. 


Fig.  3 

r 


.  3,  Kansas  616,  a  daughter  -of  Barred  Plymouth 

n  '•„  toifi  a  Darceel  Plvmo-ath  Rock  male  from  a  high-producing  family.     First 

1 


Rock  grade,  Kansas  16, 


Fig.  4,  Kansas  664,  a  Barred  Plymouth  Rock  grade,  daughter  of  Kansas  616  and 
a  Barred  Plymouth  Rock  male  from  a  trap-nested  high-producing  family. 
First  year  production  248  eggs.  (Courtesy  Kans.  State  Agr.  Col.) 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

while  the  high  layers  are  likely  to  appear  old  and  ragged. 
The  body  feathers  change  first  and  the  main  wing  feathers 
last.  As  it  requires  about  six  weeks  to  grow  the  first 
new  flight  feather  and  two  weeks  more  for  each  succeed- 
ing one  and  as  hens  seldom  lay  while  molting,  it  is  pos- 
sible to  estimate  fairly  closely  how  long  it  will  be  before 
they  will  get  into  laying  condition  again.  This  is  done 
by  counting  the  new  flight  feathers  beginning  at  the 
elbow  and  subtracting  the  number  of  weeks  indicated 
from  24.  To  tell  the  length  of  time  since  the  hen  stopped 
laying  add  up  the  number  of  new  flights.  The  late 
molters  will  usually  be  birds  of  good  vigor. 

A  strong  constitution  is  so  tremendously  important  in 
either  the  laying  or  breeding  flock  that  even  the  late 
molters  should  be  carefully  scrutinized  in  this  regard. 
Only  females  which  exhibit  activity  and  vitality  should 
be  kept  over  for  laying  or  breeding.  All  specimens  that 
are  scrawny,  undersized,  weak  on  the  legs,  light  in  weight, 
excessively  fat,  or  which  have  deformities  such  as  crooked 
legs,  back  or  beak,  should  be  eliminated.  It  is  well  to 
dispose  of  birds  that  have  long  toe  nails,  overhanging 
eyelids,  or  any  defect  which  handicaps  them  in  their 
search  for  food.  The  long  slender  head  (crow  head)  or 
spindling  shanks  indicate  the  lack  of  thrift  and  vigor. 
Such  individuals  cannot  be  profitable  producers.  A 
bright  red  comb  and  wattles  indicate  a  good  circulation. 
The  laying  hen  is  a  hustler  and  working  all  the  time. 
She  sings  at  her  work  and  is  usually  more  gentle  and 
sociable  than  the  non-layer. 

In  order  to  lay  a  large  number  of  eggs  a  hen  must  have 
large  organs  of  digestion  and  of  reproduction.  In  the 
live  bird  these  of  course  cannot  be  examined.  It  goes 
without  saying,  however,  that  an  individual  cannot  have 
a  large  and  well  developed  digestive  and  reproductive 
apparatus  unless  it  also  exhibits  a  capacious  body. 
Capacity  is  indicated  by  a  long  keel  (breast  bone)  and 
the  long  deep  and  wide  body. 

Page  Thirteen 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

When  a  hen  is  laying  the  point  of  the  keel  (breast  bone) 
moves  away  from  the  pelvic  bones  (lay  bones).  When 
the  hen  is  not  laying  these  come  closer  together  and  are 
less  pliable.  The  actual  distance  is  comparative  only 
and  varies  in  different  individuals,  depending  on  the 
size  and  the  breed.  When  the  bird  is  laying,  the  pelvic 
bones  (located  just  below  and  to  either  side  of  the  vent) 
are  quite  far  apart  and  pliable,  whereas  in  a  male  bird 
or  a  hen  that  is  not  laying,  they  are  quite  close  together. 
They  are  also  quite  thin  due  to  the  fact  that  fat  is  not 
deposited  in  this  region.  While  the  hen  is  laying  heavily 
the  skin  of  the  abdomen  is  soft  and  pliable  in  a  good 
layer  and  the  flesh  of  this  region  is  not  firm  and  hard  to 
the  touch  as  in  the  case  of  a  non-layer,  when  considerable 
masses  of  fat  are  likely  to  be  deposited  here. 

The  abdomen  should  not  hang  down,  indicating  a 
fatty  degeneration  of  the  supporting  tissues.  Neither 
should  it  be  tucked  up,  indicating  lack  of  capacity.  The 
latter  condition  is  very  frequently  found  when  the 
keel  is  short.  The  vent  is  large  and  moist  in  a  good 
layer. 

In  the  yellow  shanked  varieties  (all  Americans  and 
Mediterraneans  except  the  black  varieties),  the  yellow 
color,  which  is  by  no  means  limited  to  the  shanks  but  is 
found  in  the  skin  as  well,  gradually  disappears  from  the 
various  parts  of  the  body  in  the  following  order: 

1 .  The  vent. 

2.  The  eye  ring. 

3.  The  beak,  starting  at  the  base. 

4.  From  the  shanks  beginning  at  the  toes  and  leav- 
ing the  back  of  the  hock  the  last. 

A  glance  at  the  latter  section  will  indicate  how  much 
the  shank  is  bleached.  Loss  of  color  from  the  shanks 
indicates  that  a  much  longer  period  of  laying  has  elapsed 
than  loss  of  color  from  the  other  sections  named.  Gen- 
erally a  bleached  shank  indicates  that  there  have  been 
fifteen  to  twenty  weeks  of  heavy  production. 

Pa^t  Fourteen 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

When  in  laying  a  hen's  comb  is  comparatively  large, 
red  and  warm  to  the  touch.  The  wattles  are  also  com- 
paratively large  and  warm,  apparently  due  to  the  func- 
tioning of  the  ovary.  Therefore  if  the  comb  is  small, 
limp  and  cool  to  the  touch  the  bird  is  not  laying.  Fre- 
quently the  comb  of  a  non-layer  is  covered  with  a  white 
scale-like  crust. 

The  characteristics  of  high  and  low  producers  have 
been  summarized  in  University  of  Missouri  Extension 
Circular  No.  70,  as  follows: 

Characteristics         The  best  producing  hens  will  show 
of  High  Layers     all  of  the  following  characteristics: 

1.  Vigor — Strong,  healthy,  active,  gentle  and  happy. 

2.  Molt — Not  molting  before  October  first. 

3.  Pigmentation — Shanks  and  beak  pale.     Ear  lobes 
showing  no  yellow. 

4.  Quality — Skin  soft,  fine  and  velvety.     Breast  bone 
thin  and  of  fine  quality.     Pin  bones  straight  and  flexible. 

5.  Laying    condition — Abdomen    soft    and    flexible. 
Vent  moist  and  expanded.     Body  depth  four  fingers  or 
more.     Width  of  pin  bones  at  least  three  fingers. 

Characteristics         The  poor  producers   in   the   flock 
of  Poor  Layers     w^  show  all  of  the  following  charac- 
teristics at  culling  time: 

1.  Vigor — Lazy,  inactive,  wild,  cross. 

2.  Molt — Beginning  to  molt  in  July,  August  or  Sep- 
tember. 

3 .  Pigmentation — Shanks  and  beak  prominent  yellow ; 
yellow  in  ear  lobes  on  Mediterranean  breeds,  such  as 
Leghorns. 

4.  Quality — Skin  thick,  dry  and  coarse.     Breast  bone 
thick  and  blunt  on  the  edge.     Pin  bones  blunt  and  un- 
yielding. 

Page  Fifteen 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

5.  Laying  Condition — Abdomen  hard.  Vent  dry  and 
puckered.  Body  depth  less  than  three  fingers.  Pin 
bones  less  than  two  fingers  apart. 

Where  careful  culling  is  practiced, 
The  Breeding  the  most  satisfactory  type  of  mating 
Pen  from  the  standpoint  of  egg  production, 

is  a  highly  vigorous  cockerel  from  a 
family  of  high  producers  mated  with  yearling  hens  which 
molted  late  and  gave  evidence  of  good  vigor  and  pro- 
duction. This  applies  whether  one  is  keeping  pure-breds 
or  is  simply  grading  up  his  flock. 

The  number  of  females  to  be  mated  with  one  male 
varies  with  the  class  of  stock.  For  the  Asiatics  it  should 
be  eight  to  ten.  For  the  American  and  English  classes 
it  should  be  ten  to  fifteen  and  for  the  Mediterraneans  may 
be  fifteen  to  twenty.  The  hens  to  be  mated  should  be 
kept  away  from  other  males  for  at  least  three  weeks  prior 
to  the  saving  of  the  first  eggs  for  hatching,  and  should 
have  associated  with  the  males  it  is  desired  to  breed  from, 
for  at  least  ten  days,  while  two  weeks  is  better. 

Successful  hatching  of  eggs  in  incu- 
Care  of  Eggs  bators  depends  fully  as  much  on  the 
for  Hatching  vigor  and  vitality  of  the  parent  stock 
and  the  care  of  the  eggs  before  being 
put  into  the  incubator  as  upon  the  incubator  itself.  Suc- 
cessful hatches  can  be  expected  only  when  the  birds  in  the 
pens  from  which  the  eggs  come  are  enjoying  an  abundant 
health.  Poor  hatches  are  probably  caused  more  fre- 
quently by  poor  breeding  stock  than  by  poor  incubators. 
Eggs  that  are  being  saved  for  hatching  should  be  of 
good  size  and  normal  in  shape  and  color.  The  egg  starts 
to  develop  at  a  temperature  between  68  and  6q°  F.  and 
should  be  kept  where  the  temperature  is  below  65°  F. 
until  it  is  set.  A  good  dry  cellar  usually  furnishes  the 
ideal  place.  The  eggs  should  be  turned  over  every  day 
or  two  if  they  are  kept  any  length  of  time  before  hatching. 
The  sooner  the  eggs  are  incubated  after  being  laid,  the 

Past  Sixteen 


Fig.  1.    Oil  lamp  heated  small  sized  hover. 


Fig.  2.    A  coal  stove  brooder,  hover  raised. 

(Courtesy  Kan.  State  Agr.  Col.) 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

better,  though  they  may  usually  be  kept,  if  under  proper 
conditions,  for  a  week  or  even  ten  days  without  injury. 
If  for  any  reason  it  is  desirable  to  set  dirty  eggs  they 
should  be  put  into  the  incubator  without  washing.  The 
probability  of  their  hatching  is  better  if  they  are  not  washed. 
The  small  incubator  is  fast  replacing 
Incubating  the  setting  hen  in  most  sections  of  the 

country  and  in  some  sections  is  in  turn 
being  replaced  by  the  mammoth  incubator  at  the  customs 
hatchery.  Buying  day-old  chicks  or  having  the  eggs  from 
the  farm  incubated  at  a  hatchery  is  gaining  in  popularity. 

The  small  lamp-heated  incubator  will  continue  to  be 
used  on  most  farms  for  a  good  many  years  to  come,  how- 
ever. In  purchasing  an  incubator  it  usually  pays  not  to 
depend  on  the  very  cheapest  makes.  The  difference  in 
cost  between  a  poor  machine  and  a  good  one  is  small  in 
comparison  with  the  loss  that  may  be  caused  by  an 
inefficient  hatcher.  The  machine  should  be  set  up  in 
some  room  that  is  fairly  uniform  in  temperature.  This 
is  most  likely  to  be  a  cellar.  It  should  be  so  located  that 
the  sun  cannot  strike  it  at  any  time  of  day  and  should  be 
made  perfectly  level  by  the  aid  of  an  ordinary  carpenter's 
level. 

In  the  case  of  used  machines  care  should  always  be 
taken  thoroughly  to  disinfect  with  a  3  per  cent  solution 
of  any  of  the  coal  tar  stock  dips.  If  a  spray  pump  is 
not  available  the  work  can  easily  be  done  by  dipping  a 
whisk  broom  in  the  disinfectant  and  flirting  into  the 
interior  of  the  machine,  making  sure  that  the  thermometer, 
regulator  and  the  sides,  top,  bottom  and  all  the  trays  are 
thoroughly  drenched. 

Directions  for  operating  each  make  of  machine  are 
usually  sent  out  by  the  manufacturers.  While  the 
directions  vary  somewhat  for  different  makes,  it  is  the 
intention  of  the  manufacturer  to  give  the  directions  which 
will  bring  the  best  results  for  his  particular  make  of 
machine  and  they  should,  therefore,  be  followed  unless 
some  reason  for  varying  from  them  is  found. 

Page  Seventeen 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

At  the  beginning  of  every  season  it  is  a  safe  precaution 
to  test  the  thermometer  and  make  sure  it  is  registering 
accurately.  This  may  be  done  by  borrowing  a  physician's 
thermometer,  heating  some  water  to  a  temperature  of 
about  1 06°  F.  and  moving  the  bulbs  of  the  physician's 
and  the  incubator  thermometers  back  and  forth  through 
the  water  together.  If  they  agree,  it  is  safe  to  assume 
that  the  incubator  thermometer  is  all  right.  If  they 
disagree,  it  will  be  the  best  plan  to  invest  in  a  new  ther- 
mometer. Not  infrequently  a  thermometer  which  regis- 
ters perfectly  one  season  may  be  found  to  be  very  inaccu- 
rate the  following  season. 

It  is  the  general  practice  to  start  the  machine  at  a 
temperature  of  about  102°  and  carry  it  at  that  tempera- 
ture during  the  first  week.  The  second  and  third  week 
it  is  allowed  to  run  as  near  103°  F.  as  possible  and  during 
the  hatch  is  likely  to  go  to  104°  F.,  which  is  a  good  tem- 
perature for  bringing  the  chicks  out.  It  should  never 
be  allowed  to  go  above  105°  F.,  which  is  the  danger  point. 

In  all  localities  except  where  the  climate  is  very  humid, 
it  will  help  the  hatches  to  introduce  moisture  into  the 
machine.  The  most  convenient  way  of  doing  this  is  to 
place  large  shallow  galvanized  iron  trays  below  the  egg 
trays.  These  should  be  filled  with  sand  and  the  sand 
kept  puddled  with  water.  Where  provision  is  made 
for  the  chicks  to  drop  down  into  the  Nursery  below,  the 
moisture  pans  should  be  removed  on  the  i8th  day. 

It  is  customary  to  turn  the  eggs  at  least  twice  a  day 
until  the  i8th  day  and  to  cool  them  once.  The  turning 
may  be  done  by  removing  a  few  eggs  from  one  end  of 
the  tray,  rolling  the  eggs  in  the  tray  and  then  replacing 
those  taken  out.  This  turning  largely  prevents  the 
difficulty  known  as  "stuck  germs"  which  refers  to  the 
fact  that  as  the  egg  loses  its  moisture,  the  developing 
chick  occasionally  adheres  to  the  shell.  A  stuck  germ 
seldom,  if  ever,  hatches. 

Page  Eighteen 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

The  cooling  of  the  eggs  is  accomplished  by  taking  the 
tray  out  of  the  machine  and  placing  it  on  a  table  or, 
where  the  regulator  does  not  interfere,  on  top  of  the 
machine.  The  eggs  should  be  allowed  to  cool  until 
they  feel  cool  though  not  stone  cold,  to  some  sensitive 
part  of  the  body  such  as  the  lips  or  the  eyelid. 

It  is  customary  to  test  the  eggs  twice  during  the 
incubation  period,  usually  about  the  seventh  and  four- 
teenth days,  so  that  the  infertile  and  dead-germ  eggs 
may  be  removed.  The  exact  time  of  testing  is  really 
immaterial.  Some  incubator  operators  prefer  to  make 
the  test  on  the  loth  and  i8th  days.  The  testing  should 
always  be  done,  however,  so  that  the  infertile  eggs  may 
be  made  use  of  by  feeding  to  other  chicks  or  the  laying 
stock  and  the  dead-germ  eggs  destroyed  before  they 
begin  to  putrefy  in  the  machine. 

After  the  i8th  day  the  incubator  should  be  closed  and 
kept  closed  until  the  hatch  is  well  over  unless  some 
very  unusual  circumstance  makes  it  desirable  to  open  it. 
After  the  hatch  is  well  over  which  will  be  usually  the 
2oth  day  for  Mediterranean  breeds  and  the  2ist  for 
the  heavier  breeds  the  chicks  should  be  left  in  the  incu- 
bator without  feeding  for  at  least  thirty-six  hours. 

A  very  large  chick  loss  by  inexperienced  poultry 
raisers  would  be  avoided  if  they  did  not  make  the  mis- 
take of  feeding  the  chicks  too  soon  after  hatching.  At 
the  time  the  chick  breaks  its  way  out  of  the  shell  nearly 
half  of  the  original  yolk  of  the  egg  is  still  in  the  digestive 
tract  undigested.  It  usually  takes  at  least  thirty-six 
hours  for  the  digestion  and  absorption  of  this  material. 
If  the  chicks  are  fed  before  this  material  fully  absorbs  it 
is  quite  likely  to  prove  fatal  owing  to  its  fermentation 
and  putrefaccion. 

March  and  early  April  is  the  time 

Time  of  to  hatch  chicks  of  the  heavier  breeds 

Hatching  where  winter  eggs  are  looked  for  from 

the  pullets.     This  means  that  they 

must  be  set  in  February  and  March.     The  eggs  of  the 

Page  Nineteen 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

Mediterranean  breeds  should  be  set  in  March  and  the 
first  three  weeks  of  April  so  that  they  will  be  out  in 
April  and  early  May.  Chicks  hatched  earlier  or  later 
may  do  well  but  the  chances  are  against  it.  Chicks 
hatched  too  early  are  likely  to  go  into  a  molt  in  the 
fall  and  not  lay  till  spring.  Late  hatched  pullets  are 
likely  not  to  come  into  laying  until  cold  weather  sets 
in,  in  which  case  they  also  are  not  likely  to  lay  much 
before  spring. 

There  are  two  types  of  brooders 
Farm  which  usually  meet  the  farm  poultry 

Brooders  raisers'  needs.     These  are  the  small 

oil  heated  Colony  Brooder  and  the 
large  coal  heated  Colony  Brooder.  The  first  usually  has 
a  capacity  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  chicks  while  the 
latter  will  brood  from  400  to  600  and  even  more.  So 
far  as  the  care  of  the  heater  is  concerned  it  is  little  or  no 
more  work  to  attend  a  coal  stove  brooder  which  will 
care  for  several  hundred  chicks  than  it  is  a  small  oil 
heated  brooder.  Where  chicks  are  raised  in  any  con- 
siderable numbers,  it  will  take  very  much  less  labor 
to  take  care  of  them  in  comparatively  large  groups  than 
in  small  flocks,  and  where  they  have  a  good  range  and 
fresh  ground,  they  will  do  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  well. 
In  buying  a  brooder  of  either  type,  there  are  certain 
things  that  one  should  look .  out  for.  An  oil-heated 
brooder  should  have  lamps  with  bowls  large  enough  to 
contain  a  forty-eight-hour  supply  of  oil.  In  windy, 
stormy  weather  unless  one  has  the  brooder  in  an  unusually 
well  protected  place,  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  get  the 
lamp  lit  and  the  heater  door  closed,  before  the  wind  puts 
the  lamp  out.  At  such  times,  it  is  highly  desirable  to  let 
the  lamp  burn  another  day  before  opening  up  the  heater 
box.  With  the  small  oil-heated  brooders,  one  should 
also  be  very  sure  that  arrangement  has  been  made  to 
give  the  chicks  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  air  when 
they  are  under  the  hover.  Young  and  old  stock  both 
are  highly  sensitive  to  the  lack  of  ventilation. 

Page  Twenty 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

While  the  larger  coal-heated  brooders  usually  do  not 
interfere  with  proper  ventilation,  the  small  hovers  with 
the  cover  curtains  reaching  clear  to  the  floor  are  frequently 
very  defective  in  this  regard.  With  insufficient  ventila- 
tion, one  can  only  expect  dopy,  unthrifty  chicks.  With 
the  coal-heated  brooder,  the  main  thing  to  look  out  for 
is  a  fire  box  large  enough  to  carry  fire  and  keep  up  the 
temperature  over  night.  This  type  of  Colony  brooder 
particularly  meets  the  needs  of  those  persons  who  wish 
to  rear  250  to  300  pullets  or  to  buy  perhaps  600  or  700 
baby  chicks  at  one  time. 

A  used  brooder  should  be  thoroughly  disinfected 
before  the  chicks  are  put  under  it.  In  any  case,  the 
brooder  should  be  heated  up  until  it  gives  a  temperature 
of  about  1 00°  under  the  hover  and  run  two  or  three  days 
to  make  sure  that  it  can  maintain  that  temperature. 

It  is  a  good  thing  to  take  the  chicks  from  the  incubator 
and  put  them  under  the  hover,  at  night,  as  they  seem  to 
become  accustomed  to  the  hover  and  return  to  it  when 
chilly,  more  quickly  than  when  they  are  first  put  under 
it  in  day  light.  Some  sort  of  litter  should  always  be 
scattered  under  the  hover  and  over  the  floor  surrounding 
it.  The  material  used  when  the  chicks  are  first  put  out 
should  be  digestible,  such  as  mealed  alfalfa,  bran,  or 
the  shatter  ings  from  alfalfa  or  clover  hay.  The  reason 
for  this  is  that  not  infrequently  before  the  chicks  have 
learned  to  distinguish  between  the  different  kinds  of 
feed,  they  get  to  eating  the  litter.  In  the  case  of  sand, 
gravel,  chaff  or  chopped  straw  which  are  all  highly 
indigestible,  their  crops  become  impacted  and  a  large 
death  loss  results. 

With  brooder  chicks  the  main  effort  should  be  to 
keep  them  comfortable.  As  a  general  rule  it  will  be 
found  that  where  a  temperature  of  100°  F.  is  given  at 
first  it  can  be  reduced  4  or  5°  a  week  until  the  chicks 
are  well  feathered  out.  If  the  weather  is  over  warm  it 
may  be  reduced  even  faster.  If  it  turns  cold,  it  is  fre- 
quently necessary  to  increase  the  heat  again.  It  is 

Page  Twenty-One 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

always  well  to  furnish  plenty  of  heat  for  if  the  chicks 
are  too  warm,  they  will  move  out  from  under  the  hover. 
If  on  the  other  hand,  they  are  too  cold,  they  are  likely 
to  bunch  and  pile  up  resulting  in  the  smothering  of  some 
chicks  and  more  or  less  injury  to  all.  A  chick  that  has 
been  thoroughly  chilled  probably  never  regains  its  full 
thrift  and  vitality. 

The  secret  of  the  successful  feeding 
Feeding  of  little  chicks  insofar  as  there  is 

Chicks  anv  secret»  lies  in  four  things.  The 

first  is  in  not  feeding  too  soon.  The 
second  is  to  feed  sparingly,  giving  a  little  at  a  time  and 
often;  the  third  is  to  feed  only  grains  which  are  abso- 
lutely free  of  must  and  mold,  and  the  fourth  is  to  furnish 
those  ingredients  which  supply  their  growing  needs. 

Chicks  should  not  be  removed  from  the  incubator  until 
they  show  by  their  actions  that  they  are  quite  hungry. 
This  is  never  sooner  than  thirty-six  hours  after  hatching 
and  is  frequently  forty-eight  or  even  seventy-two.  The 
reason  for  this  is  that  when  the  chicks  are  fed  before 
all  of  the  yolk  material  which  is  taken  into  the  digestive 
tract  just  before  hatching  is  fully  absorbed  and  digested, 
it  sours  and  causes  scours,  usually  followed  by  a  loss  of 
chicks. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  when  the  little  chicks 
are  put  in  brooders,  they  are  left  largely  to  their  own 
resources.  There  is  no  mother  hen  to  keep  them  alert 
and  interested  in  picking  up  their  food  a  bit  at  a  time. 
The  tendency,  particularly  with  the  beginner,  is  usually 
to  overfeed  rendering  the  chicks  dull,  listless  and  highly 
susceptible  to  the  many  ills  to  which  they  are  heir.  For 
the  first  two  weeks  after  they  come  from  the  incubator 
the  chicks  should  be  fed  at  least  five  times  a  day,  and 
never  more  at  one  time  than  they  will  clean  up  fairly 
readily. 

The  grains  used  must  be  sweet.  Whenever  a  new 
supply  is  gotten,  either  by  purchase,  or  from  a  bin,  it 

Page  Twenty-Two 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

should  be  carefully  inspected  by  burying  the  nose  in  a 
double  handful  to  see  whether  there  is  any  musty  or 
moldy  taint.  One  may  almost  as  well  feed  poison  to 
chicks  as  to  feed  grains  that  have  heated  or  musted  in  the 
bin.  Much  of  the  so-called  white  diarrhea  found  in  the 
Central  and  Western  States  is  not  a  contagious  disease 
at  all  but  a  condition  caused  by  one  of  two  things ;  feed- 
ing too  soon  after  the  chicks  are  hatched  or  feeding  grain 
that  is  not  perfectly  sweet. 

In  furnishing  the  chicks  with  the  proper  ingredients 
for  growth,  it  has  been  found  that  sour  milk  when  used 
in  connection  with  the  grains  usually  available  in  most 
sections  of  the  country,  comes  as  near  being  what  the 
chick  needs  as  anything  that  can  be  found.  This  is 
emphasized  in  the  following  outline  taken  from  Bulletin 
No.  0,6  of  the  Storrs  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

"On  removing  from  the  incubator 
Sour  Milk  take  each  chick  individually  and  dip 

the  First  its  beak  in  sour  milk  in  order  to  make 

Peed  sure  that  milk  is  the  first  food  taken 

into  its  system.  Be  sure  that  the 
chick  swallows  two  or  three  times  before  passing  it  on  to 
the  box  or  basket  in  which  it  is  to  be  carried  to  the  brooder. 
Extensive  experiments  have  shown  that  milk  is  a  quickly 
and  easily  digested  food  and  that  it  has  a  most  favorable 
influence  in  promoting  growth  and  in  reducing  mortality 
from  all  causes.  It  has  been  the  practice  at  this  station 
not  to  give  the  chicks  any  water  to  drink  until  they  are 
eight  or  ten  weeks  old,  provided  they  are  given  all  the 
milk  they  will  consume.  This  method  insures  the  con- 
sumption of  milk  by  all  the  chicks  whereas,  if  both  water 
and  milk  are  available,  some  of  the  chicks  are  likely  to 
drink  only  water.  For  best  results  sour  milk  should  be 
fed  in  a  thickened  condition  but  before  the  curd  has 
separated  from  the  whey.  The  chicks  seem  to  like  it 
best  in  this  condition  and  will  consume  more  than  if  it 
is  not  yet  thickened  or  if  separation  has  taken  place. 

Page  Twenty-Three 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

"Practical  considerations  may  prevent  feeding  the  milk 
in  this  ideal  condition.  In  the  first  place  thick  milk 
does  not  readily  feed  down  in  a  drinking  fountain  and 
fountains  are  often  preferred  to  open  drinking  pans. 
Furthermore,  it  may  not  always  be  possible  to  get  milk 
in  just  the  same  condition  every  day  so  that  uniform 
souring  can  be  allowed  to  take  place  before  feeding.  In 
avoiding  these  difficulties  it  is  better  to  feed  the  milk 
before  it  has  thickened  than  to  wait  until  it  has  separated. 
Chicks  apparently  do  not  relish  the  clear  whey  which 
always  remains  at  the  top,  but  if  one  follows  the  natural 
inclination  to  pour  it  off,  a  lot  of  valuable  food  will  be  lost. 

"  In  many  cases,  especially  where  milk  is  produced  on 
the  farm,  it  may  be  more  desirable  to  feed  sweet  milk 
than  to  wait  for  it  to  sour.  In  deciding  this,  as  with  many 
other  problems,  the  poultryman  must  be  governed  by 
his  own  particular  conditions.  In  all  our  experiments 
we  have  obtained  substantially  equal  results  with  sweet 
and  sour  milk.  The  only  reason  for  advocating  sour 
milk  is  that  the  chicks  seem  to  prefer  it.  The  lactic  acid 
in  sour  milk  is  not  at  all  a  necessary  factor  in  milk  feeding. 

"Part  of  the  beneficial  effect  of  the  milk  seems  to  come 
from  the  fact  that  it  induces  the  chicks  to  consume  larger 
quantities  of  grain  and  mash  than  will  chicks  of  the  same 
age  when  not  given  milk.  For  this  reason,  if  for  no 
other,  a  supply  of  milk  should  be  kept  constantly  available 
from  the  time  the  chicks  are  placed  in  the  brooder  and 
for  just  as  long  as  it  can  be  obtained  at  a  reasonable  price. 

"The  first  day's  rations  should  con- 
Feeding  sist  of  fine  chick  feed  in  which  has 

Practice  been  mixed  a  large  percentage  of  fine 

grit.  It  may  even  be  well  to  give 
clear  grit  for  the  first  feed.  If  coarse  sand  is  used  on  the 
floor  it  will  take  the  place  of  commercial  grit.  The  chicks 
will  learn  to  eat  grit  just  as  readily  as  they  will  pick  up 
grain.  Under  no  circumstances  should  the  early  feeding 

Page  Twenty-Four 


Standard  B 


BUFF    ORPINGTON 


I.IGHT     BRAHMA 


jeds  of  Poultry 


RHODE    ISLAND    RED 


BRONZE     TURKEY 


WHITE     LEGHORN 


WHITE    >WYANDOTTE 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

of  grit  be  omitted  for  without  it  the  chick  can  not  make 
use  of  the  hard  food  which  it  is  to  be  given.  After  two 
or  three  days  the  proportion  of  grit  may  be  reduced  and 
after  the  first  week  it  may  be  hopper  fed  if  desired,  in 
order  to  prevent  waste. 

"As  soon  as  the  chicks  learn  to  eat  the  grain  it  should 
be  scattered  in  a  litter  where  they  will  have  to  work  for 
all  they  get.  Feed  them  sparingly  four  or  five  times 
daily  and  make  them  exercise.  It  is  very  easy  to  over- 
feed young  chicks.  They  should  be  kept  always  hungry 
for  more.  Let  the  digestive  organs  gradually  work  up 
to  their  maximum  capacity  during  the  first  two  or  three 
weeks,  after  which  time  the  chicks  may  safely  be  fed  all 
they  will  consume. 

"Beginning  with  the  third  day  wheat  bran  should  be 
constantly  available.  Bran  is  a  mild  laxative  and  in 
this  connection  probably  has  some  value.  More  import- 
ant, however,  is  the  fact  that  it  is  bulky.  The  consump- 
tion of  bran  insures  a  considerable  distension  of  the 
digestive  tract,  putting  it  in  shape  for  the  work  that  it 
will  soon  be  compelled  to  do.  Bran  satisfies  the  chick's 
craving  for  something  to  eat  without  calling  upon  the 
digestive  system  to  assimilate  a  lot  of  nutrients  which 
it  is  not  yet  prepared  to  handle.  Another  important 
point  to  remember  is  that  bran  is  rich  in  mineral  matter 
except  lime.  In  particular  it  contains  a  large  amount  of 
phosphorus  and  this  is  very  important  for  the  formation 
of  bone.  The  building  of  bone  also  requires  lime  in  some 
form.  This  may  be  furnished  by  using  grit  that  contains 
a  considerable  amount  of  lime  or  by  feeding  fine  ground 
oyster  shells  in  hoppers  where  the  chicks  can  get  them 
as  desired. 

"During  the  second  week  feed  the  grain  three  or  four 
times  daily  and  substitute  chick  mash  for  the  wheat  bran. 
When  the  chicks  are  about  six  weeks  old,  the  chick  feed 
may  gradually  be  replaced  by  intermediate  or  scratch 

Page  Tuxnty-Fim 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

feed  and  the  number  of  feedings  reduced  to  three  daily. 
Also  the  chick  mash  may  be  replaced  by  the  regular 
laying  mash. 

"Make  all  changes  of  feed  gradually.  If  changed 
suddenly  from  all  chick  feed  to  all  scratch  feed,  the  chicks 
will  probably  eat  very  little  of  the  new  feed  and  in  con- 
sequence will  receive  an  undesirable  set-back  in  growth." 

The  feeding  formulas  which  have  been  used  by  the 
Storrs  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  for  several  years 
are  as  follows : 

CHICK  FEED 

Cracked  Wheat 15  Ibs. 

Fine  Cracked  Corn 15  Ibs. 

Pinhead  Oats 10  Ibs. 

Broken  Rice 3  Ibs. 

Fine  Charcoal 2  Ibs. 

DRY  MASH 

Wheat  Bran 20  Ibs. 

Corn  Meal i  o  Ibs. 

Sifted  Ground  Oats 10  Ibs. 

Low  Grade  Flour 10  Ibs. 

Beef  or  Fish  Scrap 10  Ibs. 

At  six  weeks  of  age  the  chick  feed  was  gradually  replaced 
by  scratch  feed  and  the  chick  mash  by  the  regular  laying 
mash.  The  formula  for  each  of  these  is  given: 

SCRATCH  FEED 

Cracked  Corn 200  Ibs. 

Wheat 200  Ibs. 

LAYING  MASH 

Corn  Meal 100  Ibs. 

Wheat  Bran i  oo  Ibs. 

Ground  Oats 100  Ibs. 

Flour  Middlings ; 100  Ibs. 

Beef  or  Fish  Scrap : 100  Ibs. 

Page  Twenty-Six. 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

For  the  best  growth  and  develop- 
Green  ment  of  chicks  another  factor  is  also 

Pood  necessary,  namely,  green  food  in  some 

form.  This  may  consist  of  mangels, 
table  beets,  sprouted  oats,  lettuce,  lawn  clippings,  or  other 
things  which  are  available  at  different  seasons.  The 
feeding  of  green  food  should  begin  early — chicks  will  eat 
it  as  soon  as  the  third  or  fourth  day.  If  mangels  are  used 
they  should  be  cut  fine  and  scattered  a  little  at  a  time 
where  all  the  chicks  may  have  a  chance  to  get  a  taste. 
As  soon  as  they  learn  to  eat  them  well  the  mangels  may 
be  sliced  and  hung  on  finish  nails  on  the  wall.  The  chicks 
cannot  get  too  much  green  food  and  they  should  have 
access  to  a  bountiful  supply  at  all  times. 

As  soon  as  the  sexes  can  be  distin- 
Separate  guished    they    should    be    separated. 

the  Sexes  Unless  the  cockerels  are  to  be  sold  as 

breeders,  they  should  be  penned  up 
and  heavily  fed  until  they  are  large  enough  to  be  disposed 
of  as  broilers  weighing  \y£  to  ^l^  pounds.  They  will 
never  come  nearer  to  returning  a  profit  that  at  the  broiler 
age.  In  some  sections  where  good  prices  for  capons 
prevail  it  may  pay  to  caponize  the  cockerels  and  grow 
them  out  for  the  holiday  market.  In  most  cases,  how- 
ever, the  room  can  be  used  to  better  advantage  in  develop- 
ing pullets. 

'  When  the  chicks  are  well  feathered 
Location  out  and  all  danger  of  their  needing 

of  the  Poultry       further  heat  is  past,  they  should  be 
House  given  quarters  supplied  with  perches 

so  located  that  they  can  have  abun- 
dant range.  Whether  it  is  to  be  used  for  old  or  young 
stock,  the  poultry  house  should  be  located  where  the 
drainage  is  good  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  shade  near 
by.  Although  the  chicken  originally  came  from  a  very 
hot  country,  it  was  a  jungle-dwelling  fowl  unable  to 

Page  Twenty-Seven 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

survive  the  burning  sun  without  the  protection  of  trees 
and  shrubs.  Its  need  of  this  kind  of  protection  has  not 
changed  and  the  poultry  house  should  be  very  close  to 
the  orchard  or  woodlot.  If  the  chicken  house  is  to  be 
dry,  as  it  must  be  to  give  good  results,  it  must  be  located 
where  the  drainage  is  good  either  naturally  or  because  of 
tiling. 


.  There  are  four  essentials  of  a  good 

Essentials  chicken  house.     When  these  are  taken 

of  a  Good  care  of,  it  makes  little  difference  what 

Hen  House  stYle  or  tvPe  tne  nouse  is-    These 

four  essentials  are  dryness,  ventilation 
without  drafts,  sunlight  and  plenty  of  room. 

The  domestic  fowl  is  very  much  more  dependent  upon 
its  breathing  apparatus  to  regulate  the  body  temperature 
through  evaporation  than  is  true  of  the  other  farm 
animals.  It  also  depends  upon  its  lungs  and  air  sacks 
to  a  large  extent,  to  get  rid  of  the  excess  moisture  of  the 
body.  Whenever  a  chicken  is  forced  to  breath  damp  air, 
it  is  at  a  physical  disadvantage  and  it  is  uncomfortable. 
It  is  only  the  comfortable  chick  that  will  thrive  and  the 
comfortable  hen  that  will  lay  many  eggs. 

One  of  the  means  of  keeping  a  hen  house  dry  is  to  fur- 
nish plenty  of  ventilation  Chickens,  however,  are 
sensitive  to  drafts  and  take  cold  easily  and  this  ventilation 
should  be  furnished  in  such  a  way  that  the  birds  are  never 
in  a  direct  draft.  Pound  for  pound,  fowls  use  a  very 
great  deal  more  oxygen  from  the  air  than  do  horses,  cattle, 
sheep  and  swine.  An  insufficient  supply  of  fresh  air  is 
more  quickly  injurious  to  them  than  to  any  other  class  of 
farm  animals. 

Plenty  of  sun  shining  into  the  house  is  also  an  aid  in 
keeping  it  dry.  Sunlight  also  makes  the  house  more 
cheerful  and  attractive  and  the  hens  more  comfortable. 

Page  Twenty-Eight 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

It  is  further  the  best  natural  disinfectant  that  we  have 
and  is  a  great  preventive  of  disease.  A  common  fault 
of  farm  hen  houses  is  that  they  are  too  dark. 

The  chicken  house  may  be  dry,  well  ventilated  without 
drafts  and  have  window  space  sufficient  to  admit  plenty 
of  sunlight  and  still  give  bad  results  if  too  many  individuals 
are  crowded  into  a  given  house.  For  the  older  birds  the 
best  results  will  usually  be  secured  if  from  3^  to  4  square 
feet  of  floor  space  per  bird  is  allowed. 

As  a  usual  thing,  the  net  returns  from  a  flock  of  100 
laying  hens  kept  in  a  house  20x20  will  be  greater 
than  from  200  hens  kept  in  the  same  house  taken 
year  in  and  year  out.  In  years  when  the  windows  are 
open  and  the  birds  can  be  out  of  doors  most  of  the  time, 
the  results  from  the  crowded  house  might  not  be  so  bad, 


CROSS  SECT/ON 


Two  UNIT  SCCTIOM 
SCALE-.  i'-»'. 


NEW  JERSEY  MULTIPLE  UNIT  LAYING  HOUSE. 


Page  Twenty-Nine 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

but  in  ordinary  years,  the  winter  egg  production,  which 
is  the  most  profitable  production,  would  be  very  seriously 
interfered  with. 

Plans  of  a  very  successful  laying  house,  taken  from  the 
New  Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  325, 
are  shown  on  page  29  which  give  the  arrangement  of 
perches,  nests,  watering  devices  and  feed  hoppers.  In 
all  those  sections  where  it  is  not  unusually  dry,  it  would 
be  advisable  to  put  in  a  layer  of  coarse  crushed  rock  below 
the  cement  floor  in  order  to  keep  out  the  moisture  that  is 
constantly  working  up  through  the  ground  and,  unless 
prevented,  through  the  floor  into  the  hen  house.  Proper 
construction  of  the  floor  of  the  hen  house  is  one  of  the 
most  important  items. 

Attention  is  also  called  to  the  ventilator  at  the  rear  of 
the  house  behind  the  dropping  boards  which  allows  for  a 
summer  ventilation.  The  space  immediately  behind  and 
above  the  dropping  boards  is  fixed  so  that  the  draft  cannot 
strike  the  birds  when  at  roost  but  will  pass  above  or  below 
them. 

Good  results  from  the  flock  depend 
Care  of  the  to  a  marked  degree  upon  the  care  of 

House  tne  building  that  houses  them.     The 

house  that  is  not  cleaned  and  thor- 
oughly sprayed  at  intervals  is  almost  sure  to  harbor  mites 
and  lice  and  to  be  filthy  as  well.  Filth  provides  a  great 
place,  not  only  for  the  breeding  of  mites,  but  for  the 
development  of  disease  germs. 

The  chicken  house  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  out 
and  the  floor,  walls,  ceiling  and  fixtures  thoroughly 
drenched  with  some  powerful  disinfectant  at  least  twice 
a  year,  preferably  the  early  spring  and  in  the  fall.  A  three 
per  cent  solution  of  a  coal  tar  stock  dip  will  serve.  Besides 
these  thorough  cleanings,  the  litter  kept  in  the  house 

Page  Thirty 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

should  be  removed  and  replaced  with  fresh  whenever  it 
becomes  so  broken  up  that  grain  thrown  out  to  the  birds 
does  not  disappear  so  that  the  birds  have  to  scratch  it  out 
to  find  it. 

It  has  been  found  that  on  commercial  poultry  plants 
where  fowls  are  kept  in  quite  large  numbers,  the  artificial 
lighting  of  the  houses,  morning  and  evening,  proves  profita- 
ble during  the  winter.  Giving  the  hens  n  hours  of  light 
increases  egg  production  at  the  season  when  prices  are 
high.  It  apparently  does  not  increase  the  yearly  produc- 
tion. For  ordinary  farm  flocks,  however,  it  would  hardly 

pay. 

Whenever  it  is  at  all  possible,  the 
Yards  fowls  should  be   fenced  out  of  the 

places  where  they  are  not  wanted 
rather  than  into  yards.  Free  range  is  the  ideal  chicken 
yard,  for  it  usually  furnishes  cheap  feed  and  good  health. 
For  the  general  farm,  the  practice  of  fencing  the  chickens 
out  of  the  door  yard  and  garden  and  away  from  the  gran- 
ary and  giving  them  the  run  of  the  farm  is  growing. 
Where,  for  any  reason,  it  is  necessary  to  confine  the  birds, 
the  larger  the  yards  can  be  made  the  better.  Whenever 
they  are  so  small  that  the  chickens  keep  them  bare  of 
greenness,  the  flock  is  in  danger  of  a  bad  epidemic  of 
disease.  Such  yards  and  the  bare  areas  around  the  house 
when  the  chickens  are  on  range,  should  be  turned  over  at 
least  once  a  year  (twice  a  year  is  better),  and  seeded  down 
to  some  quick  growing  crop.  It  is  only  by  such  means  that 
the  soil  can  be  kept  sweet  and  free  from  disease. 

It  is  highly  important  that  the  pullets  be  put  into  the 
laying  house  early.  They  should  'be  in  winter  quarters 
long  before  they  begin  to  lay.  When  they  are  neglected 
and  are  not  moved  into  the  permanent  laying  house 
until  after  they  begin  to  lay,  they  are  very  likely  to  be 
thrown  into  a  molt  which  will  in  turn  seriously  interfere 
with  their  winter  egg  production. 

Page  Thirty-One 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

Feeding  Contrary  to  the  general  belief,  there 

Laying  Hens         is  no  one  ration  which  is  better  than 

all  the  rest  and  which  is  a  guarantee 

of  egg  production.    As  much  depends 

upon  how  a  ration' is  fed  as  upon  what  the  ration  contains. 

The  following  ration  taken  from  the  Purdue  University 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.   218  has 

been  widely  used  and  has  given  most  excellent  results. 

It  has  the  very  great  advantage  of  being  quite  simple. 

GRAIN 

Corn 10  Ibs. 

Wheat 10  Ibs. 

Oats 5  Ibs. 

MASH 

Bran 5  Ibs. 

Shorts 5  Ibs. 

Meat  Scraps 3.5  Ibs. 

Where  there  is  plenty  of  skim  milk  available,  it  may 
be  used  to  replace  the  meat  scrap,  if  given  as  a  drink. 
The  following  routine  in  feeding  laying  hens  taken  from 
Lippincott's  Poultry  Production  has  proved  successful 
in  a  large  number  of  cases : 

"In  the  morning  give  a  light  feed  of  grain,  soon  after 
the  birds  leave  the  perch.  This  should  be  scattered  in 
a  deep  litter  of  straw  to  every  part  of  the  pen  so  that 
the  birds  will  be  compelled  to  scratch  vigorously  for 
some  hours  in  order  to  search  it  all  out.  Fresh  water 
should  be  supplied  in  the  morning. 

"At  noon  as  much  succulence  as  the  birds  will  clean 
up  in  twenty  minutes'to  half  an  hour  should  be  supplied. 
Fresh  water  should  be  given  and  the  dry  mash  hopper 
opened. 

"Two  to  three  hours  before  the  birds  go  to  roost  they 
should  be  given  a  full  feed  of  grain  thrown  in  the  litter. 

Page  Thirty-Two 


g    N 

6? 


It 

Is 


SI' 


S  2] 


M  3 

c 

13-d 
as  «J 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

It  is  essential  to  the  best  results  that  the  birds  go  to 
roost  with  full  crops,  and  this  feeding  should  not  be 
stinted.  An  examination  of  the  crops  of  the  birds  should 
now  and  then  be  made  after  they  are  on  the  perch  to 
ascertain  whether  they  are  well  filled. 

"  It  is  better  to  overdo  the  matter  of  evening  feeding 
a  little  than  to  slight  it.  If  a  little  grain  is  left  in  the 
litter,  it  will  be  eagerly  scratched  out  in  the  morning. 
Great  care  should  be  taken,  however,  to  so  feed  that 
the  straw  is  scratched  absolutely  free  of  grain  at  least 
once  a  day.  In  following  this  particular  routine  this 
should  be  the  condition  at  noon.  The  really  skilled 
feeder  is  the  one  who  so  handles  the  ration  that  he  con- 
stantly piques  the  appetite  of  his  fowls  so  that  they  will 
consume  large  amounts  of  feed  with  relish,  yet  never 
gives  quite  all  they  would  like  to  consume.  As  noted  in 
other  connections,  of  the  two  evils,  'overfeeding'  or 
'underfeeding'  to  a  slight  degree,  the  latter  is  prefer- 
able. It  limits  production  slightly,  by  not  furnishing 
quite  all  the  raw  material  that  could  be  made  over  into 
a  finished  product,  but  it  keeps  the  appetite  keen  and 
the  body  in  good  working  order.  Overfeeding,  on  the 
other  hand,  cloys  the  appetite  and  clogs  the  system, 
thereby  limiting  production  even  more  than  in  the 
first  case. 

"Unless  the  weather  is  quite  cool,  fresh  water  should 
be  supplied  at  the  time  of  the  evening  feeding.  In  the 
event  of  freezing  weather,  the  water  pan  should  be  emptied." 

In  the  Purdue  University  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  ration  given  above  it  is  assumed  that  they  will 
consume  25  pounds  of  the  grain  while  eating  1 3^2  pounds 
of  the  dry  mash  where  meat  scrap  is  used.  Where  meat 
scrap  is  not  used,  they  will  consume  25  pounds  of  grain 
to  10  pounds  of  dry  mash  and  drink  50  to  60 
pounds  of  skim  milk. 

Page  Thirty-Three 


PROGRESSIVE     POULTRY     RAISING 

Another  ration  originating  at  the  Cornell  Station  and 
fed  with  excellent  success  is  as  follows: 

GRAIN 

Wheat 3  parts 

Corn  or  Kafir ^  parts 

Oats i  part 

DRY  MASH 

Corn  Meal 60  Ibs. 

Wheat  Middlings  or  Shorts , .  .60  Ibs. 

Meat  Scrap 50  Ibs. 

Wheat  Bran 30  Ibs. 

Linseed  Oil  Meal 10  Ibs. 

Alfalfa  Meal 10  Ibs. 

Salt i  ft. 

This  ration  may  also  be  fed  according  to  the  routine 
outlined  above. 

While  the  final  finishing  for  slaugh- 
Fattening  for  ter  is  done  in  the  feed  lot  in  the  case 
Slaughter  °f  most  °f  t^e  farm  animals,  this  does 

not  hold  true  for  poultry.  Instead 
it  is  done  at  the  packing  house  by  means  of  milk  feeding 
in  crates,  because  birds  that  are  properly  fattened  on 
the  farm  are  so  tender  that  they  cannot  stand  the  han- 
dling necessary  for  shipment  without  bruising.  These 
bruises  develop  into  highly  colored  green  and  blue  patches 
that  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  carcass  and  interfere 
with  its  sale.  The  fattening  process  also  has  a  peculiar 
effect  on  the  bones,  rendering  them  so  chalky  and. brittle 
that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  ship  finished  stock  without 
breaking  legs  and  wings. 

While  the  final  finishing  must  be  done  at  the  packing 
house,  it  pays  to  send  the  birds  to  market  in  good  flesh. 
In  the  case  of  mature  birds,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  pen  them 
up  and  feed  all  the  corn  they  will  eat  for  a  period  of 
two  weeks  prior  to  sale  or  shipment. 

Page  Thirty-Four 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

Producing  While  it  is  possible  to  keep  a  good 

Good  Eggs  e&&>  tnat  *s  produced  in  March  and 

April,  good  until  mid-winter,  a  good 
egg  cannot  be  made  from  a  poor  one.  During  the  spring 
months  before  the  hot  weather  sets  in  mosp  of  the  eggs 
marketed  arrive  in  fairly  good  condition  but  with  the 
onset  of  warm  weather  the  situation  is  much  changed 
and  eggs  reach  the  packing  house  in  considerable  numbers 
that  are  not  only  not  fit  for  storage  but  are  actually 
unfit  for  use  as  food  at  all. 

The  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry  has  carried  on  investi- 
gations which  show  that  the  following  simple  precautions 
taken  during  the  very  hot  weather  resulted  in  the  market- 
ing of  eggs  which  graded  97  per  cent  first  class.  These 
results  were  reported  in  Bulletin  No.  160  of  the  Animal 
Industry  Department,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

1 .  Infertile  eggs  were  produced  by  keeping  the  males 
from  the  laying  flock.     As  has  already  been  suggested, 
this  may  be  accomplished  by  disposing  of  the  cockerels 
as  broilers  before  they  reach  the  breeding  age,  or  by 
capon  iz  ing. 

2 .  The  hens  were  furnished  plenty  of  roomy,  clean  nests. 

3.  The  eggs  were  gathered  twice  daily. 

4.  They  were  kept  in  a  cellar  that  was  cool,  dry  and 
free  from  odors. 

5.  The  eggs  were  taken  to  market  twice  a  week,  being 
carefully  protected  from  the  sun  on  the  way  to  town. 

6.  The  eggs  that  were  small,  dirty,  misshapen  or  found 
in  stolen  nests  were  kept  for  home  use. 

In   dealing   with   poultry   diseases, 
Diseases  preventive  rather  than  curative  meas- 

ures should  be  depended  upon.  The 
flock  that  is  well  bred  from  the  standpoint  of  vigor,  is 
reasonably  well  fed  and  given  a  comfortable  house  and  run 
on  land  that  is  sodded  or  grows  a  crop  each  year,  is  not 
likely  to  give  much  difficulty  from  diseases.  As  a  usual 

Page  Thirty-Five 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

thing  it  will  be  found  easiest  and  the  least  expensive  to 
isolate  individual  ailing  birds  and  except  in  the  case  of 
slight  ailments  which  quickly  recover,  kill  and  burn  them. 
Where  one  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  an  epidemic  make 
its  appearance,  the  veterinarian  should  be  called  or  fowls 
that  are  just  coming  down  with  the  disease  should  be 
shipped  to  the  State  Experiment  Station  for  examination 
and  diagnosis. 

+  In  the  control  of  lice  sodium  fluorid 

Lice  and  is  nearly  100  per  cent  efficient.     It  is 

Mites  easily  the  best  louse  killer  to  be  ob- 

tained. It  can  usually  be  secured 
from  the  local  drug  store  and  comes  in  the  form  of  a  white 
powder.  It  may  be  applied  in  two  forms,  as  a  dust  or  as 
a  dip.  Where  applied  as  a  dust,  small  pinches  of  it  should 
be  worked  into  the  feathers  on  the  head,  neck,  back, 
breast,  under  the  wings  and  below  the  vent.  During  the 
warm  weather  it  is  very  much  quicker  and  much  more 
effective  to  dip  the  fowls.  The  solution  is  colorless  and 
does  not  stain  the  feathers.  Where  the  dipping  is  done 
on  a  warm,  quiet,  sunny  day  the  birds  dry  out  quickly 
and  no  ill  effects  follow. 

The  following  is  quoted  from  Farmers*  Bulletin  80 1 
of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture : 

"In  using  the  dipping  method  all  that  is  necessary  is  a 
supply  of  tepid  water  and  a  tub.  If  two  persons  are  to 
dip  at  the  same  time  it  is  advisable  to  use  a  large  tub. 
The  water  should  be  measured  into  the  tub  and  three- 
fourths  to  one  ounce  of  commercial  or  two-thirds  of  an 
ounce  of  chemically  pure  sodium  fluorid  added  to  each 
gallon  of  water.  It  is  readily  dissolved  by  stirring.  The 
tub  should  be  filled  to  within  6  or  8  inches  of  the  top, 
and  as  the  amount  of  solution  is  lowered  through  dipping 
numbers  of  fowls,  water  with  the  proper  proportion  of 
sodium  fluorid  dissolved  should  be  added  from  time  to 
time. 

Page  Thirty-Six 


i 


r  «mfc 


Be  friendly  with  your  flocks,  but  feed  little  chicks  separately  from 
the  grown  birds. 


PROGRESSIVE    POULTRY     RAISING 


"In  dipping  the  fowls  it  is  best  to  hold  the  wings  over 
the  back  with  the  left  hand  and  quickly  submerge  the 
fowl  in  the  solution,  leaving  the  head  out  while  the  feathers 
are  thoroughly  ruffled  with  the  other  hand  so  as  to  allow 
the  solution  to  penetrate  to  the  skin  on  different  parts  of 
the  bird.  The  head  is  then  ducked  once  or  twice,  the 
bird  is  lifted  out  of  the  bath  and  allowed  to  drain  a  few 
seconds  and  is  then  released. 

"It  is  not  necessary  to  keep  the  fowl  under  the  water 
longer  than  20  to  30  seconds  and  the  head  only  an  instant." 

Mites  can  be  controlled  by  spraying  thoroughly  the 
interior  of  the  hen  house  and  all  the  fixtures  with  a  mix- 
ture of  kerosene  and  crude  oil  in  the  proportion  of  i  to  3. 
As  a  usual  thing,  one  thorough  application  will  completely 
eradicate  the  mites  of  the  infested  house  but  to  make  sure, 
it  is  advisable  to  make  a  second  spraying  a  month  after 
the  first. 


-Metts  under  frwit  of  dropping  board 


HI 

J" 


\ 


SCALE   f-l 


NEW  JERSEY  MULTIPLE  UNIT  LAYING  HOUSE 
FLOOR  PLAN  -  Two  UNIT  SECTION 

(SEE  PAGE  29) 

Floor  plan  of  an  excellent  poultry  house. 
(Courtesy  N.  J.  Agr.  Expt.  Sta.) 


Page  Thirty-Seven 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 


Turkeys 


OF  THE  six  varieties  of  turkeys  recognized  in  Amer- 
ica the  Bronze  is  by  far  the  most  widely  bred.  It 
is  also  the  largest  and  is  usually  the  most  desirable 
for  market  purposes  in  spite  of  its  dark  feathers.  The 
standard  weight  of  the  young  torn  is  25  pounds,  yearling, 
3-3  pounds  and  adult  36  pounds.  The  standard  weight 
of  the  young  female  is  16  pounds  and  the  mature  female 
20  pounds.  Next  in  popularity  comes  the  variety  known 
as  the  White  Holland,  which  is  a  somewhat  smaller  bird. 
The  standard  weights  for  the  males  of  different  ages  is 
20,  24  and  28  pounds  and  for  the  females  14  and  1 8  pounds. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  provide  a  house  for  turkeys  though 
it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  have  a  shed  handy  into  which 
they  may  be  driven  on  extremely  stormy  nights.  As  a 
usual  thing  they  will  do  better  roosting  out  in  the  open 
even  in  quite  severe  weather  Where  only  a  small  flock 
is  kept  1 5  females  may  be  mated  with  one  male  if  he  is 
unquestionably  vigorous.  If  a  flock  of  about  25  or  30 
is  kept,  two  males  will  be  needed  but  they  should  not 
be  allowed  to  run  with  the  flock  at  one  time.  One  should 
be  allowed  to  run  with  the  flock  one  day  and  the  other  the 
next.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  where  both  are  allowed 
to  mingle  with  the  flock  at  the  same  time,  they  will  fight 
until  one  of  them  becomes  boss,  after  which  he  will  do 
most  of  the  mating  and  the  flock  will  be  very  little  better 
off  so  far  as  the  fertility  is  concerned  than  if  it  had  a 
single  male. 

When  one  experiences  difficulty  with  having  the  laying 
hens  hide  out  their  nests  during  the  hatching  season, 
this  can  usually  be  overcome  by  shutting  the  birds  in  a 
pasture  or  better  still,  the  orchard,  until  they  are  through 
laying,  when  they  may  be  let  out  for  exercise.  They  may 
be  driven  in  at  night-fall  if  there  are  suitable  roosting 
quarters,  or  allowed  to  roost  out  all  night  and  driven  in 

Page  Thirty-Eight 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

in  the  morning.  The  latter  is  not  difficult  to  do  where 
one  has  been  following  the  practice  of  giving  a  morning 
feed. 

During  the  winter  the  birds  should  be  fed  twice  a  day 
on  equal  part  of  oats,  wheat  and  corn.  Something  in 
the  line  of  green  feed  should  be  given  and  also  feed  of 
animal  origin  such  as  meat  scrap,  high  grade  tankage  or 
sour  milk. 

As  a  usual  thing  it  is  the  best  plan  to  raise  the  poults 
with  their  natural  mothers  or  with  chicken  hens.  Turkey 
hens  are  the  most  satisfactory  mothers  for  poults  but 
where  it  is  desirable  to  break  up  the  broody  turkey  hens 
and  get  them  to  laying  again,  chicken  hens  may  be  used. 
Turkey  hens  will  ordinarily  cover  fifteen  to  seventeen 
eggs  while  chicken  hens  of  the  middle  weight  breeds  will 
take  care  of  seven  to  nine.  Whether  turkey  or  chicken 
hens  are  used  the  nests  should  be  made  on  the  ground 
and  lined  with  straw.  The  setting  hen  should  always 
be  carefully  dusted  with  sodium  fluorid  so  that  she  will 
certainly  be  louse  free  at  the  time  of  bringing  off  the 
hatch. 

For  brooding  young  poults  plenty  of  exercise  and 
dryness  are  the  two  great  essentials.  The  coop  used  for 
the  mother  hen  should  be  weather  tight,  though  allowing 
for  ventilation.  It  should  also  be  movable  so  that  it 
can  be  shifted  about  from  place  to  place.  Where  the 
poults  are  on  range  they  will  usually  need  little,  if  any, 
feeding.  When  the  conditions  are  such  that  they  can- 
not be  out  on  the  range  some  attention  must  be  given 
to  their  feeding.  The  following  is  a  method  outlined  in 
Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  791  of  the  United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  "For  the  first  two  days  after  hatch- 
ing, poults  require  no  feed,  the  yolk  of  the  egg  which 
they  absorb  before  breaking  out  of  the  shell  being  suf- 
ficient to  maintain  them  for  that  length  of  time.  Access 
to  clean  drinking  water  and  a  little  coarse  sand  and 
green  feed  to  pick  at,  is  all  that  is  needed  until  the  third 

Page  Thirty-Nine 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

day.  Beginning  with  the  third  day,  the  poults  should 
be  fed  according  to  the  quantity  of  natural  feed  they  are 
able  to  pick  up  outside  the  coop.  They  should  always 
be  hungry.  To  feed  all  they  will  clean  up  several  times 
a  day  removes  the  cause  of  searching  for  food,  so  little 
exercise  is  taken  and  indigestion  is  sure  to  result.  When 
natural  feed  is  scarce,  or  when  the  poults  have  to  be  kept 
from  ranging  outside,  they  should  be  fed  lightly  about 
five  times  a  day.  If  allowed  to  run  outside  the  coop 
where  they  can  find  insects,  seeds,  and  green  feed,  they 
need  not  be  fed  oftener  than  two  or  three  times  a  day. 

Successful  turkey  raisers  use  many  different  kinds  of 
feed,  some  of  the  most  common  being  as  follows: 

1.  Hard-boiled    egg    chopped    fine    and    corn-bread 
crumbs  for  the  first  week,  and  then  whole  wheat  and 
hulled  oats. 

2.  Stale  bread,  soaked  in  milk  and  squeezed  dry,  for 
the  first  few  days  and  then  common  chick  feed. 

3.  Clabbered  milk  seasoned  with  salt  and  pepper, 
corn-bread  crumbs. 

4.  Equal  parts   "pinhead"   oats,   whole  wheat,   and 
cracked  corn. 

5.  Cracked  wheat. 

6.  Corn  meal  and  wheat  bran  mixed  in  the  proportion 
of  three  to  one  and  baked  into  bread. 

7.  Bran  or  middlings  one-half,  cracked  Egyptian  corn 
one-quarter,  wheat  and  hulled  oats  one-quarter. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  skimmed  milk  and  buttermilk 
are  quite  often  fed,  with  excellent  results.  A  good  plan 
is  to  keep  the  milk  in  front  of  the  poults  during  the  morn- 
ing and  water  during  the  afternoon.  If  grit  and  green 
feed  cannot  be  picked  up  outside  the  coop,  they  must 
be  provided  in  some  other  way.  Chopped  onion  tops, 
lettuce  leaves,  dandelion  leaves  and  alfalfa  make  excel- 
lent green  feed.  Grit  can  be  furnished  in  the  form  of 
coarse  sand. 

Page  Forty 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

In  getting  the  turkeys  ready  for  market  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  begin  feeding  a  little  night  and  morning  about 
the  middle  of  September.  The  feed  should  be  very 
light  at  first  and  the  amount  gradually  increased  until 
about  ten  days  before  marketing  when  they  should  be 
given  all  they  will  consume  three  times  a  day.  In  the 
beginning  equal  parts  of  wheat,  oats  and  corn  may  be 
given  but  the  proportion  of  corn  should  be  gradually 
increased  until  the  last  of  October  when  they  should  be 
fed  on  corn  alone.  As  a  usual  thing  results  are  not  satis- 
factory where  the  birds  are  confined  during  the  fattening 
period. 


Page  Forty-One 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 


Ducks 


DUCKS  like  turkeys  are  looked  upon  as  meat  pro- 
ducing birds.  While  the  Runner  duck  is  quite 
well  known  for  its  laying  propensities,  it  is  the 
only  one  of  the  several  varieties  that  can  be  looked  upon 
as  an  egg  producer.  Among  the  meat  breeds  the  Pekin 
stands  pre-eminent.  Where  these  birds  are  given  proper 
attention  they  may  be  marketed  at  ten  to  twelve  weeks 
weighing  five  to  six  pounds.  They  can  be  raised  with 
success  on  general  farms  but  the  duck  business  has 
tended  very  rapidly  to  be  concentrated  on  intensive 
duck  farms  of  large  size.  A  house  similar  to  the  one 
required  for  chickens  is  desired.  The  essential  of  the 
duck  house  is  that  it  shall  be  dry  and  have  fresh  air 
with  freedom  from  drafts.  The  floor  of  the  house  should 
be  kept  well  bedded  with  straw  and  cleaned  out  as  soon 
as  the  straw  becomes  matted  and  damp.  Dry  feet  while 
in  the  house  at  night  seems  to  be  a  necessity  for  egg  pro- 
duction. Ducks  make  their  nests  on  the  floor  of  the  house 
by  burrowing  the  straw.  The  number  of  ducks  per 
house  should  be  one  for  every  6  feet  of  floor  space  for 
breeders,  though  fattening  and  young  ducks  may  be 
kept  closer.  A  mesh  fence  18  inches  high  will  hold  most 
ducks  and  a  2-foot  one  all  of  those  commonly  raised  as 
most  of  them  cannot  fly. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  breeding  season  one  drake 
should  be  allowed  for  five  or  six  ducks.  The  number  of 
males  should  be  reduced  to  one  for  every  seven  about 
March  ist  and  then  one  for  every  nine  or  ten  about 
April  i  st.  The  number  of  drakes  should  always  be 
decreased  when  they  begin  to  worry  the  ducks. 

The  desire  to  incubate  their  own  eggs  has  been  bred 
out  of  many  strains  of  ducks,  particularly  the  Pekin. 
For  this  reason  the  egg  must  be  hatched  in  incubators 
or  under  hens.  Duck  eggs  should  be  gathered  daily, 

Page  Forty-Two 


Give  the  chickens  a  free  range,  fencing  them  out  of  places  where  they 
are  not  wanted. 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

kept  in  a  cool  place  and  turned  daily.  They  should  be 
set  as  soon  as  possible  after  laying  as  they  do  not  keep 
as  well  as  hens'  eggs.  In  incubating  duck  eggs  artificially, 
they  are  handled  about  the  same  as  hens'  eggs  except 
that  the  temperature  should  be  held  at  102°  for  the 
first  three  weeks  and  more  moisture  supplied  in  the 
machine.  They  may  be  tested  for  fertility  on  the  fourth 
or  fifth  day.  Ducks  take  very  kindly  to  artificial  brood- 
ing and  are  in  fact  usually  easier  to  handle  than  chicks. 
The  incubation  period  is  twenty-eight  to  thirty  days  for 
all  varieties  except  the  Muscoog,  in  which  case  it  is  thirty- 
five  days. 

Where  they  are  to  be  sold  as  green  ducks  at  ten  to 
twelve  weeks,  the  young  ducks  are  usually  not  allowed 
to  range  but  are  fed  heavily  from  the  first.  The  brooder 
temperature  should  be  about  95°  to  start  with  but  is 
reduced  more  rapidly  than  for  chicks,  usually  being 
brought  down  10°  the  first  week  and  reduced  even  more 
rapidly  thereafter.  Ducklings  should  not  be  fed  for  at 
least  thirty-six  hours  after  hatching.  The  ration  for 
the  first  week  may  consist  of  equal  parts  of  bran,  corn 
meal,  middlings  and  5  per  cent  of  sand  in  it  to  serve  as 
grit.  This  should  be  given  to  them  five  times  daily, 
care  being  taken  that  no  more  is  fed  than  will  be  com- 
pletely cleaned  up.  After  the  third  day  5  per  cent  of 
sifted  meat  scrap  should  be  added  and  green  food  in 
the  form  of  chopped  lettuce,  alfalfa  or  clover  fed  freely. 
After  the  first  week  the  number  of  feedings  may  be 
reduced  to  four  and  the  ration,  two  parts  wheat  bran, 
one  part  wheat  middlings,  one  part  corn  meal  and  one-half 
part  meat  scrap  with  5  per  cent  sharp  sand,  may  be 
given.  In  addition  all  the  green  food  they  will  consume 
should  be  furnished.  At  about  eight  weeks  of  age  the 
young  ducks  should  be  confined  in  a  cool,  shady  place 
and  fed  for  three  weeks  on  a  fattening  ration  which  may 
consist  of  equal  parts  of  wheat,  bran,  middlings,  corn 
meal,  to  which  is  added  10  per  cent  of  meat  scrap  and  5 

Page  Forty-Three 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

per  cent  sharp  sand  and  all  the  green  food  they  will 
consume.  Birds  saved  for  breeding  should  not  be  pushed 
for  growth  but  they  should  be  kept  in  a  shady,  grassy 
pasture  and  light  feeding  of  two  parts  wheat  bran,  one 
part  corn  meal  and  one  part  ground  oats  may  be  given 
twice  a  day.  With  all  ducks,  young  and  old,  fresh  water 
should  be  kept  before  them  at  all  times  and  the  drinking 
dishes  should  be  deep  enough  so  that  the  nostrils  may  be 
cleansed.  Along  about  the  first  of  November  these  birds 
should  be  given  access  to  a  mash  consisting  of  two  parts 
wheat  bran,  one  part  middlings,  one  part  corn  meal  and 
one  part  meat  scrap.  This  ration  should  be  continued 
throughout  the  breeding  season. 


Page  Forty-Four 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 


Geese 


THE    Toulouse  and  Embden  geese  are  by  far  the 
most  popular  breeds  for  farm  raising.    The  Toulouse, 
which  is  gray  in  color,  is  the  larger  of  the  two,  the 
young  gander  weighing  20  pounds  and  the  young  goose 
1 6  pounds.    The  adult  gander  weighs  26  pounds  and  the 
adult  goose  20  pounds.     The  Embdens  are  white  geese 
weighing  18  and  16  pounds  for  the  young  gander  and 
goose   respectively   while    the   adult   male   and    female 
weigh  20  and  18  pounds,  if  up  to  standard  weight. 

Except  in  the  most  extreme  weather  no  shelter  is  neces- 
sary for  geese.  When  some  protection  is  necessary 
usually  a  shed  intended  primarily  for  some  other  purpose 
will  be  available.  Geese  should  not  be  used  for  breeding 
purposes  until  they  are  coming  two  years  old  though 
the  ganders  may  be  used  the  first  season  and  for  several 
seasons  thereafter.  For  best  results  not  more  than  two 
geese  should  be  mated  to  one  gander.  While  goose  eggs 
may  be  artificially  hatched  and  brooded,  it  is  usually 
found  more  satisfactory  to  hatch  them  under  hens. 
Hens  used  for  hatching  eggs  should  be  carefully  dusted 
with  sodium  fluorid  and  given  good  care  during  the 
hatching  period  as  this  lasts  from  28  to  30  days. 
Whether  eggs  are  put  in  incubators  or  under  hens  they 
should  be  sprinkled  with  warm  water  every  day  during 
the  first  week.  The  first  goslings  should  not  be  hatched 
until  the  grass  is  green.  When  they  are  about  due  to 
hatch  if  hens  are  used  the  eggs  should  be  carefully 
watched  and  the  first  goslings  taken  out  as  soon  as  they 
hatch  and  wrapped  in  a  woolen  cloth  and  kept  in  a  warm 
place.  They  should  be  kept  away  from  the  nest  until 
the  youngest  goslings  are  several  hours  old,  when  they 
may  be  given  back  to  the  hen.  If  this  is  not  done  the 
hen  is  likely  to  become  restless  and  leave  the  nest  with 
the  older  goslings  before  the  late  ones  are  strong  enough. 

Page  Forty-Five 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

They  should  be  closely  confined  with  their  mother  until 
they  are  three  or  four  days  old,  after  which  they  may 
be  allowed  liberty  with  their  mother  in  a  grassy  pasture. 

Goslings  should  be  fed  carefully  for  the  first  week  or 
ten  days  after  which  they  secure  most  of  their  food  if 
allowed  to  run  in  a  good  pasture.  The  rations  fed  by 
different  raisers  are  numerous  but  all  agree  in  feeding 
only  a  mash.  This  may  consist  of  corn  meal  to  which 
is  added  10  per  cent  of  meat  scrap,  or  five  parts  corn 
meal,  five  parts  shorts  and  one  part  meat  scrap.  Either 
of  these  rations  should  be  moistened  to  a  crumbling  con- 
sistency with  milk  or  water.  As  a  usual  thing  mature 
geese  will  be  self-maintaining  if  kept  on  a  good  pasture. 
In  case  of  drought  or  during  the  winter,  however,  they 
should  be  fed  such  bulky  feed  as  mangels,  turnips  or 
steamed  clover  supplemented  by  the  mash  of  equal 
parts  corn  meal,  bran  and  ground  oats.  For  both  young 
and  old  stock  there  ought  always  to  be  an  abundance  of 
drinking  water  handy  to  the  place  of  feed,  Ground  bone 
or  charcoal  should  always  be  available.  Geese  intended 
for  breeding  purposes  usually  do  better  on  pasture  than 
in  the  feeding  lot  with  other  stock,  as  in  the  latter  case 
they  are  likely  to  get  too  fat. 


Page  Forty-Six 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY      RAISING 

REFERENCES 

GENERAL  BOOKS 

Poultry  Production, 

By  Wm.  A.  Lippincott.     Published  by  Lea  &  Febiger. 
"Productive  Poultry  Husbandry," 

By  H.  H.  Lewis.     Published  by  Lippincott. 
"Poultry  Breeding  and  Management," 

By  James  Dryden.     Published  by  Orange-Judd 
"Poultry  Culture,  Sanitation  and  Hygiene," 

By  B.  F.  Kaupp.     Published  by  W.  B.  Saunders  Co. 
"Poultry  Breeding," 

By  Miller  Purvis.     Published  by  Breeders'  Gazette. 

BREEDING 

"The  Mating  and  Breeding  of  Poultry." 

By  Harry  Lamon  and  Robert  Slocum.     Published  by  Orange- 
Judd. 

"Pedigreeing  Poultry  Circular  No.  67," 
Kansas  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

"Improving  Mongrel  Farm  Flocks  Through  Selected  Standardbred 
Cockerels,"  Bulletin  No.  223,  Kansas  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station. 

"Profitable  Culling  and  Selective  Flock  Breeding."  Published  by 
Reliable  Poultry  Publishing  Co. 

"Cull  the  Flock."  Circular  123,  Wisconsin  Agricultural  Experi- 
ment Station. 

THE  BREEDS 

The  Standard  Varieties  of  Chickens, 
i .     THE  AMERICAN  CLASS.  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  806,  U.  S.  Dept. 

of  Agriculture. 
1 1.     THE  MEDITERRANEAN  CLASS.  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  8g8,  U.  S. 

Dept.  of  Agriculture. 
"The  Plymouth  Rocks") 
"The  Wyandottes" 

I 

•y  Reliable 


"The  Leghorns" 
"  The  Asiatics" 


Page  Forty-Seven 


PROGRESSIVE      POULTRY     RAISING 

Turkey  Raising, 
Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  791,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 

"Duck  Raising," 

Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  697,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 

"Goose  Raising," 

"Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  767,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 

HOUSES 

"Poultry  Houses  and  Fixtures," 

Published  by  Reliable  Poultry  Publishing  Company. 

"Poultry  Buildings," 

Bulletin  No.  325,  New  Jersey  Agricultural  Experiment  Station. 

"Use  of  Artificial  Light  to  Increase  Winter  Egg  Production," 
Published  by  Reliable  Poultry  Publishing  Company. 

INCUBATION 

"Natural  and  Artificial  Incubation  of  Hens'  Eggs," 

Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  585,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 

REARING 

"Rearing  Chickens," 

Bulletin    No.    96,    Storrs    (Conn.)      Agricultural    Experiment 
Station. 

"Natural  and  Artificial  Brooding  of  Chickens." 

Bulletin  No.  624,  Bureau  of  Animal  Industry,  U.  S.  Dept.  of 


Agriculture. 


PARASITES 


Mites  and  Lice  on  Poultry," 
Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  80 1,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture. 


Page  Forty-Eight 


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